Biblical scholars disagree vigorously about the relationship between John’s gospel and the three Johannine epistles. Do these epistles share a single author, a trio of authors? Or were they composed by a “Johannine school?” Whatever the case, it is clear that 1 John was written to a wounded community.

In 1 John 2:18-19 and 4:1‑6, the author describes a community of faith that has undergone a serious schism. The division is so deep between the two groups that those who argue against 1 John’s assertions are referred to as “antichrists.” While the details of this division are never itemized or fully clarified in 1 John, the central issue for the author appears to be nothing less than the refusal by some to affirm Jesus as “the Christ,” as “the Son” of God (2:22‑23).

Despite the shatteringly se…